Background

In November 1958, Abbé Pierre was invited to Sweden, a country in which the welfare state gave so much protection that young people had nothing to fight for. The country was faced with a wave of sui-cides among students. There was a great deal of media interest in his conferences. Abbé Pierre urged the young to mobilise by becoming volunteers “amongst those who suffer” in developing countries. The following year, Susan Sandberg and her friends set up the Svalorna organisation (Swallows in English). This was the name given to the volunteers who, just like migratory birds, were to come back to the country to give an account of their experiences and challenge the public and the authorities about provision of aid for developing countries. The first Swedish volunteers were sent to Peru, then India, soon followed by other young Danes, Finns, Norwegians and a few French volunteers.

Photos

 

1960

Twitter